Motives and Barriers to Citizen’s Participation in Corporate Community Development Projects (CCDPS): Examining the Regional Experience in Russia
Abstract
This article explores the motives and barriers to citizens’ participation in corporate community development projects (CCDPs) funded by large industrial enterprises in Russia. It presents the results of a research conducted in Perm Krai in 2019-2020. This research employs a classic version of the case study - a study of a settlement. Furthermore, it represents an extended case method in which the selected municipalities are considered not as isolated objects, but as subsystems that are part of the regional and national systems. This study examines the corporate community development projects funded by one of the largest industrial enterprises in Perm Krai - LLC LUKOIL-PERM. This analysis is based on 40 in-depth interviews with participants of CCDPs and a survey of 1,200 citizens in four municipal districts in Perm Krai where CCDPs were implemented. Drawing on these empirical data, this article argues that those CCDPs are an evolving innovative channel for citizen participation in community development. In comparison with traditional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices, the goal and results of such projects go beyond the provision of social benefits to local communities. Such projects support the active involvement of community members and encourage the development of new social practices, such as taking initiative and responsibility for addressing social problems at the local level. To ensure the sustainability of CCDPs projects and community members’ active and continuous involvement, we suggest that supporting mechanisms which are currently offered to participants by the local authorities and the company’s management should be strengthened and developed further taking into account the citizens’ needs and existing participation barriers in such projects.
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